Left 4 Dead: The Infection
by Parker Nowell
Summary: Bill Johnson is a lieutenant in the United States Military stationed at the military base south of Stanson. He has been ordered to head to the city and search for any survivors of a national infection.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As I made my way to the general's quarters I noticed something odd, no one was on the base. I began to wonder if we had gone to war and I didn't get the memo. I passed by the dinning hall, which should have been filled with hungry soldiers trying to get lunch before all the best food was gone, but it was empty. Not even the cook, an old man with a short scraggly beard and greasy hair, could be found. I hurried to the general's quarters, a small building on the north side of base. It is a structure with one window and a single entrance. I arrived looking at the broken window and the door lying on the floor just inside the doorframe. As I entered the doorway I could see four rooms inside. The general sat in his study; he had a map spread out on the table and a piece of paper in his hands covering his face.

"Sir, Lieutenant Johnson reporting." I hesitantly announced myself.

"Bill, you are a good soldier and I consider you a good friend. Project Monroe has gone array. Our base was attacked early this morning. It is urgent for you to leave."

"Sir, What is Monroe?"

"Dr. George Monroe, one of the scientists from Washington found a natural chemical that is dormant in the human body. While experimenting at our facilities in Alaska he discovered a way to awaken the chemical. The original theory was that the cold temperature in the Alaska region would stop the experiment if it escaped."

"Sir, I do not understand."

"You see Dr. Monroe used prisoners as test subjects. He injected the Monroe strain virus into four test subjects. They began to mutate almost immediately. Changes in their physical appearance were the first indications of the changes from the strain. Their faces began to bubble and the skin became pale and chalky. They looked as if they were corpses. These mutated individuals have escaped and destroyed Fort Brage in Alaska. This morning they arrived here."

"Ok but Sir, What is so special about these four?"

He took a deep shuddered breath. "They are the host carriers and have started a chain reaction causing people to change," the general began still holding the paper over his face. "Everyone on base has fallen victim to this…" he paused to search for the right word "infection."

The general laid out the story of how each and every experiment happened and the changes that occurred. The first test subject went through. He began with how his arms and legs were able to stretch to unbelievable lengths. And how the second test subject grew really long sharp nails that sweated chemical Monroe and gained the ability to jump great distances. The third became extremely fat and was able to spew a strange thick chemical that alerted the other three test subjects. And the final test subject didn't undergo any major physical changes but further study showed that he was able to detect people at extreme ranges, and the importance of that I must not come in contact with any salvia or teeth of those I might meet on the way.

"Sir, what happened to the scientist?"

"I don't know but the test subjects have escaped and infected several others."

"Shouldn't the main Alaskan military base be able to take care of it?"

"I'm afraid not. They were the first to be infected by the mutants, the first civilians were also changed like the first while everyone else just look like they are dead and are hungry for human flesh, dead or alive. The first civilian was a young woman. Her change was different, I haven't heard of what happened with her but there were a few men in a gym that became really strong. Their muscles bulged out making them look like body builders from hell," he continued on talking about the men who were changed and how the others were not given special abilities and just looked and smelled of death.

"How did it travel this far?" I asked him wanting to know more about this pandemic.

"Each newly infected could change people in different ways. Most of the soldiers here were turned by being scratched," he paused taking a deep breath "We lost all of our good men."

"Are you sure there were no other survivors?"

"Yes, I'm afraid there was only one survivor…"

"One survivor? But there are two of us." Then I noticed a fowl smell. Then the general lowered the paper he had been holding up in front of his face.

His face was a grayish green. "I was bit just before I called you. I wanted you to know what happened and I know you will be able to find more survivors. I'm going down to Texas where the infection hasn't reached yet and see if one of the bases down there hasn't found a cure yet," he said this while getting closer to me to a uncomfortable distance. "I want you to go to Stanson and search for more survivors."

"Yes sir. I'll get right on it."

I ran to the armory to collect ammunition and weapons to supply myself and any survivors I found; once I collected rations, water, two shotguns, seven pistols, three assault rifles, and three snipers I headed north to Stanson to search for survivors.

*****

I approached the wall surrounding the city. It was built during the civil war to protect the city from the confederacy. The gray wall towered over two houses outside the city, bordering the main road into city on either side. They were built to house a troop of twenty guards to protect the city at any given moment. Towards the southeast I saw a young woman wearing a red shirt and blue jeans running towards the entrance to city.

"Miss, halt," I exclaimed "Lieutenant Bill Johnson at your service. May I ask where you are going?"

"My name is Zoey and I'm coming from Vicksburg. Please, please help me. I… a… back…" she panted as she talked, slurring the words with the speed at which she spoke.

"Ok Miss, calm down, just take a few deep breaths and please, it will make it easier for you to explain." I asked her as she worked on catching her breath.

"Ok," she attempted to explain to me about the infection at Vicksburg, a smaller city towards the southeast. Everyone was infected and she claimed to have seen the four test subjects, but she was hyperventilating so badly I didn't understand much.

"Ok miss, is there anyone else with you or in Vicksburg that is still uninfected?" I asked.

"No, I was the only person who got out, unless some went south or are still there and I didn't see them. You are the only other person I have encountered."

"Thank you miss. We need to keep moving, I will explain a little bit more of this to you as we go." I began to tell her of the experiment and the way the infection is spread but I don't know how much got through. And I told her about the "special infected". "So you see Miss, there should be fewer infected people here since they are heading south. I imagine we will find more survivors in this city, since everyone was trained in basic defense skills from the terrorist threats of 9/11."

She stared back the way she came expecting someone or something. "Ok… Oh my god there he is," she screamed in a breathless shriek pointing toward a man with long arms limping out of the man lifted his arms and they began to stretch toward us. He grabbed Zoey and began pulling her back toward him. I took aim with one of the assault riffles and opened fire on the mutant. I wounded him enough to get him to let go just in time for another mutant to jump on her and began to tear at her clothes. I ran to her and hit the man off of her sending him flying back into the trees. As I was helping her up, an extremely fat man wobbled out of the trees and spewed the thick chemical the general told me about all over Zoey and me.

"Zoey get back to the wall now," I shouted over the shrieks coming from every direction. "Find the guns by the wall," I instructed.

Crouching behind a tan sedan parked by the first house and the entrance to the city. Guns at the ready we took aim at the woods to the south.

"Zoey watch the entrance, they will be coming from all sides," I directed her remembering the training I had received from the Vietnam veterans.

Suddenly off in the darkness of the trees, I could make out the outline of the first few infected, few slowly ran while most of them hobbled their way toward us.

"Wait till they get closer to shoot," I instructed Zoey.

"Ok," she uttered through heavy breathing.

Ten feet away we opened fire. Green goo was flying from where the bullets hit them. The high caliber rounds blew through the soft tissue of the zombie's bodies, tearing off limbs as the bullets impacted, sending them flying through the air as they attempted to jump over the oncoming fire. After several minutes of non-stop zombie slaughter, the zombies finally stopped coming and we reloaded the guns and geared up and continued on our way.

Entering the city you could see what use to be a busy street was now a parking lot of beat up cars, few brand new models. The sidewalks, which used to be full of people going to and from work, were covered with dead bodies, blood and green goo pooled by them. Buildings were missing windows, fires burned in the streets, and there were holes in the sides of buildings from people loosing control of their vehicles. One could tell the city had been in mass chaos.

"Come on let's start looking for survivors," I said as Zoey pulled her long brown hair back in a ponytail.

"Ok, but can we find some food first, I'm starving," she asked still breathing heavily.

I sighed, checking my watch; "Yeah, I guess we need to keep our strength up." We made our way to the first apartment building and started to search for food and survivors. With my gun ready, I carefully opened the front door. The tall heavy door creaked open. Just inside was a tall bolder looking thing. The fleshy surface rippled as the massive creature breathed a wheezy breath. Taking a step back I turned to Zoey and motioned for her to back away slowly and to not make a sound.

"Why not make a sound?" she asked in loud voice.

Suddenly, as I turned to shut the door, the creature, startled, got up and ripped the door off the hinges sending both Zoey and I flying across the street. We slammed into the bakery window, and flew over the counter and into the back room, sending flour, sugar and powdered sugar all over the place.

"Carefully, follow me. And don't say a word," I instructed Zoey before she could ask the question that was forming. We crawled out the back door making as little noise as possible to not attract the attention of the giant beast that stalked the street out front. Moving swiftly we made our way out into the back alley and up the fire escape of the hotel behind the bakery.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Don't talk and stay close," Bill said to Zoey as he opened the door carefully to make sure there weren't any mutants in the hall.

Once cleared they entered the building and started to search through the first few rooms, they ran into several zombies along the way, using their pistols, to keep from wasting much ammunition, they cleared the halls and rooms quickly. In room 3008 they found food, more ammunition and a safe place to rest for the night. Clearing the hall and the floors directly above and below they got ready for the long night ahead.

In the morning Bill awoke to the sound of screeches. Looking for his companion, he grabbed a shotgun and pistol. He went to the door and looked out the peephole. In the hall was a man with short brown hair and foggy blue eyes. His skin was a sickly pale green color and he had two small boils on his right cheek. His right arm was a little bit longer than the left. He looked at the door like he was going to claw the thing that separated him and Bill. Suddenly, Bill heard Zoey screaming a blood-curdling scream. Bill left the door and the zombie in the hall to see why Zoey had screamed.

"Zoey, what's the matter," he said running through the door to the bedroom. To his surprise she was nowhere to be found. He searched the Kitchen and the bathroom but could still not find her. In a shock he realized that this apartment had a balcony. Running out onto the balcony, Bill saw Zoey being constricted by the long-armed mutant. Acting quickly Bill started to beat the arms that were wrapped around her waist. The creature let go and fled into the Starbucks© next to the apartment building.

"Zoey what do you think your doing?" Bill asked in a threatening tone.

"I was just getting some fresh air," She replied.

"You saw that thing yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yeah but I didn't think he could reach up here. We are on the thirtieth floor."

"Well you should have taken the precautions and grabbed a gun and killed him," Bill said as his voice was rising.

"Sorry I'll think of that next time," Zoey said as she pushed passed Bill to get back inside.

They ate, showered and got dressed. Before heading out Bill unloaded a few rounds from his shotgun into the door to kill any thing that might have been outside. Looking out the peephole he made sure the coast was clear. The two searched the rest of the building for survivors.

"Where could everyone be?" Zoey asked holding two pistols at arms length.

"Well judging by the size of the hoard yesterday they were either infected by the mutants or could have been killed, like you could be if it wasn't for me," Bill said turning the light on his shotgun as they entered the main stairwell of the Patriotic Resort and Spa. "But if they were able to keep from being infected, they probably headed north like you were."

"Ok well why don't we head further north instead of waste or time here?"

"Because if we run into that fat mutant again we don't want to mess with a crowd bigger than what we met outside the wall. Killing the infected before they are alerted is the best way to survive."

"Ok," Zoey said as Bill led the way out onto the street. Out on the street they saw infected people everywhere.

"Or they all could be on the streets," Bill whispered into Zoey's ear in hopes to not disturb any of the infected that littered the street. "Here use this knife and slit their throats and make as little noise as possible, don't even talk until we kill every infected on this street, well this part of the street, and don't shoot the gun just stab and cut, aim for the throat and the eyes," he directed Zoey handing her a stainless steel Buck© knife.

"Ok," she whispered back in a voice almost in audible in your ear. They moved slowly but after two grueling and bloody hours they finally killed every infected person on Chariot rd. in-between Rose Blvd. And Brandon wood Cr.

"How can four mutants infect so many people?" Zoey asked looking down upon the dead infected that covered the street.

"I don't know but they must move fast to cause this much damage without alerting every person in town," Bill stated looking at the girl whose hands were now covered in green goo.

"Why did they bleed green slime?"

"They're changing, even after the change of their physical appearance and thinking they are still changing into total different beings. Come on we better keep moving before they find us again," Bill said heading towards the next shop. "We can find supplies in here." They entered a Wal-Mart and started to hear shouts coming from the back of the store. They ran to the back of the store and saw a man with a baldhead that wore a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

"Get back you monsters," the man was shouting fighting off ten of the infected people as he held a loaf of bread, cheese, ham, lettuce, mayo, mustard, a knife, and a two litter of Pepsi. He sat his stash down on the check out counter in the electronic section of the store. "Get back you monsters," he shouted again grabbing a pistol from behind the counter.

He shot the gun at the ceiling to scare the infected off. The attempt was useless the zombies continued to go for the man's stash. He shot the first infected in the head killing him instantly. The others started to try and over power him by rushing him. Bill and Zoey ran up and started to kill the zombies with him.

*****

"Thanks, I don't think I could have taken out all those guys."

"No problem. I'm Bill and this is Zoey."

"I'm Francis," the man introduced himself.

"Where are you from Francis?"

"I live north on Elm Street. My neighborhood was attacked three days ago by fatso who called the rest of the hoard."

"Wait, who attacked your neighborhood?"

"That fat mutant. I call him fatso because he's like what four hundred pound? But I was almost killed by stretch, the guy that can stretch his arms," Francis continued on about how he had fought his way to the Wal-Mart where he set up camp. He made a point to mention the giant behemoth that killed his best friend and the young woman with black hair, extremely long razor sharp nails and glowing red eyes that wore a pink shirt and faded jeans. He said she sat in the middle of the road crying to attract people to her. When someone would get close to her she would shriek and attack them and everyone in the area.

"What did the really big guy you were talking about earlier look like?" Bill asked trying to gather more information about the situation they were in.

"Which one fatso or the really buff guy?"

"The really strong guy."

"He was about seven feet tall he only wore ripped blue jean shorts and his whole body was bulging with muscles. It looked like he couldn't reach in very close from all the muscles on his arms."

"That's the guy we saw when we came into town," Zoey said hitting Bill's arm.

"Yes I know Zoey stop hitting me," he said pushing her arm away. "Is there anything else that you didn't tell us?"

"Well there was this one guy who just stood on top of the radio station."

"What did he look like?" Bill asked.

"Well he had short hair, his skin was a pale green and one of his arms was shorter than the other."

"That's what I thought," Bill said shaking his head. "Ok let's get some supplies and get moving. That guy can detect people so he probably knows we're here."

"What?" Zoey yelled. "I thought you said we would be safe farther up north."

"No what I said was there should be fewer infected here." Bill stated. "Now we can either stay here and get attacked or we can leave and head north and find more survivors."

"Ok lets go," Francis and Zoey said simultaneously.

Grabbing some backpacks, food and water they headed out in search of more survivors. Heading north the three survivors continue the search for more survivors. Hours passed as the met countless zombies some less developed than others but still to far along to still be called human.


End file.
